Elevation problem

[Mark Heaps]

Hi all,
My brother, John, is having a problem, the gun only elevates /depesses a small amount.
I do not believe it to be a TX setting or mechanical binding,
If your KT has perfect elevation of the gun, please post what your dip-switch settings on the motion pack are.

Many thanks in advance
Mark

[Armortek]

Nothing to do with dip switches.
Problem is most likely mechanical and not electical

[yves mouton]

Hello Mark,

It is also possible that you put the inner mantlet part nr CKO 414 upside down,
i made that mistake, it is not a big problem, but it is too much work now for me to change it.
I saw that it was upside down when i drove the KT around.

Best regards Yves

[Mark Heaps]

Many thanks for the replies.
I am trying to fault-find at a distance. John & his KT are in the UK, I am in Germany.

Mark

[Mark Heaps]

John has disconnected & removed the motor. Elevation moves freely so not a mechanical problem.

[Mark Heaps]

He has also reported that the elevation works fine when the barrel is removed & problem re-appears when it is re-inserted.
Sounding now very similar to a problem an M3 owner was having with his drive motors and turned out to be a faulty Motion Module.
I have advised him to contact Armourtek.

[Stephen White]

Armortek

[Armortek]

He has also reported that the elevation works fine when the barrel is removed & problem re-appears when it is re-inserted.
Sounding now very similar to a problem an M3 owner was having with his drive motors and turned out to be a faulty Motion Module.

Actually it is not similar at all.
The most likely issue here is the force needed to elevate the barrel is too much for the elevation motor. We provide counter weights to help balance out the force at the pivot point and to put less load on the motor.
What your brother can try is:
1. Leave the motor loose on its mounting - any run out between the motor, lead screw and elevation bracket will strain the motor and stall it
2. Ensure that the elevation mechanism is deburred and lubricated so that it runs smoothly with minimal resistance - especially at the extremes of travel
3. Increase the counterweight to balance out the forces at play

[Mark Heaps]

I have problems understanding the post.
Leaving the motor loose on it´s mounting is bad practice and will increase the amount of run-out.

[Shaun Hunt]

Hi Mark

1. Leave the motor loose on its mounting - any run out between the motor, lead screw and elevation bracket will strain the motor and stall it

This was the solution I used on my Tiger1, the runout in the lead screw and the weight of the barrel caused the motor to stall tripping the thermistor in the elevation circuit.

Having the motor mounting screw loose allows some wiggle room for the motor.

I have since added a counter weight to the elevation assembly I have neutral balance although I think it could do with a little positive weight as the elevation motor now spins to fast making the barrel elevate and depress way to fast. Something I need to look at.

I also modified the lead screw by adding extra set screws at the motor end to dial out the runout in the lead screw (sorry no photo to hand at the moment)

Regards

[Mark Heaps]

I believe I have now understood what some of you have been trying to explain.
Having the motor loose on the mounting will allow it to move around dynamically aligning with the drive shaft preventing axial strain.
What is the recommended solution to stop the motor vibrating completely loose or what method do you use? Locknuts not tightened up completely or 2 nuts locked tight against each other ?
Mark

[Shaun Hunt]

Hi Mark,

I used a medium strength Loctite initially, but a nylock nut or doubled up nuts would also work. they only have to be loose enough to let the motor move around a small amount.

After I did the mod to the lead screw I found I could tighten the nuts/bolts up to secure the motor a little tighter. I'll try to get a photo sorted in a few days

Regards

[John-Heaps]

HI All,
thanks for all the advice, after discussing the issue with Mark and i mentioned the balance could be a problem i had a madcap idea, a few days back when recalling how we used to do the pre-firing checks on the tanks, the real ones that is, we would load a dummy projectile and charge, have the coax mounted with 50 rounds of drill ammo loaded so the gun had the same balance of a fully loaded system, i added some extra load to the rear of the recoil mech, because i cast ball and bullet for muzzle loading i had ingots of lead available, one and a half pounds of lead on the back of the recoil and now the gun has full elevation and depression with the motor bolted tight in its mounting and all running smoothly.

Who would have thought spending that long on real tanks would help solving a model problem, or are Armortek more like the real thing

Thanks All for your time and responses, nice to have you all out there helping.

kind Regards
John